Chapter 26
JORDAN
Jordan had been awake for a while — eyes open, mind half-on, watching the gold of the morning light coming through the porthole and falling in a long stripe across the foot of the berth.
The cabin was warm and the boat was quiet.
Dani was curled against her side with her hand flat on Jordan's stomach and her hair across Jordan's shoulder.
The sound of her breathing was so soothing that Jordan kept losing track of where her own ended and Dani's began.
She looked at the small bedside clock and her eyebrows lifted. Ten-fourteen.
She couldn't remember the last time she had been in bed at ten-fourteen. The Maiden Voyage at this hour was usually a different animal entirely — Jordan would have been up since six or seven, on her third coffee by now. The simple, predictable rhythm of her world.
Caught in a state of blissful contentment, she moved her hand up Dani's back just to feel her there, and Dani shifted against her and turned her face into Jordan's shoulder.
"Mm. What time is it?"
"Past ten."
Dani lifted her head. "Are you serious?" She let her head drop back onto Jordan's shoulder and made a sound that was halfway between a laugh and a moan. "This is nice though."
"Yeah." Jordan kissed the top of her head. "Are you hungry?"
Dani looked up at her through sleepy eyes. "I don't know." A faint pink crept up her cheeks. "This is a weird thing to say out loud, but — I have a feeling in my stomach and I can't tell if it's hunger or butterflies. Maybe both."
"I know what you mean."
"You do?" Dani chuckled. "Glad I'm not the only one. I haven't had this feeling since I crushed on my high school teacher." She stretched her arm out across Jordan's stomach. "Okay. I'll go make us coffee and put something together."
"Absolutely not." Jordan stopped her when she was about to get up. "You are not lifting a finger. That's non-negotiable."
"Jordan. I work here. I know where everything is."
"I know, but you're off duty and I want you to feel like that." She grinned. "Do you have a bikini in your cabin?"
"I have one of those branded Maiden Voyage swimming costumes. Why?"
"Because I'm serving breakfast in the jacuzzi."
Dani's eyes widened. "But, Captain," she said, in a voice that was not even pretending to be innocent. "You know the rules. No dark liquid or food in or near the jacuzzi. Direct quote. From the charter agreement. Page four. Drafted by the captain herself."
"The captain sounds like a tyrant."
"She is. Famously."
When Dani pulled her closer, Jordan rolled on top of her. She couldn't help herself; it felt so good to be all over her. Dani's breath caught, audibly, and her hands slid up her ribs.
Jordan kissed her and smiled against Dani's lips. "Charter rules don't apply when we're alone. I bend the rules all the time when no one's watching."
"Captain. You're terrible." Dani licked her lips.
"But I'd love to bend the rules with you.
" She kissed Jordan again and like every single time they started, it was impossible to stop.
Dani's hands were everywhere and Jordan's thigh slid between Dani's and pressed, making them both moan at the contact.
Jordan pulled back with what was, frankly, the last of her self-control. Her hair had fallen out of its tie and Dani was flushed underneath her, lips swollen, eyes dark.
"Okay," she said. "I promised you breakfast and if I don't get out of this bed in the next ninety seconds, breakfast is going to be an apology and a granola bar."
Dani squeezed her behind. "I'll take a granola bar. There's nothing wrong with a little more wrestling before we start the day."
Jordan laughed and reluctantly untangled herself from Dani.
"How about we continue wrestling in the jacuzzi?
" She sat up, found her t-shirt and her underwear and pulled them on.
"By the way, what was the wrestling thing about?
The Whitfields mentioned it yesterday but I didn't get the chance to ask why it was so funny. "
Dani shot her a humorous grin and rolled her eyes. "Oh, that. That's a long story. I'll tell you about it over breakfast."
Jordan made it to the cabin door and stopped to turn.
Dani was lying on her side with the sheet half over her, hair across the pillow, one bare shoulder showing.
There was sunlight on her and she smiled with a slow, lazy delight.
The whole tableau was so improbable that for a second Jordan just stood there and stared.
"What?" Dani tilted her head.
"Nothing. You just…" Jordan swallowed hard. "You look so beautiful."
Dani's smile turned soft. "I'm exactly where I want to be, Jordan. I hope you know that."
A little overwhelmed, Jordan could only nod. It was such a simple thing to say but it had landed like a stone dropped into still water, sending out ripples she could feel in her chest. Her life was changing and she was ready for it.